Police win judicial review of pay refusal

A high court judge cleared the way yesterday for a full legal battle between the police and the home secretary, Jacqui Smith, over her refusal to backdate their annual pay rise.

Mr Justice Collins said he "had no hesitation" in finding that the Police Federation had an arguable case and so should be given permission to bring an urgent application for judicial review of the decision. The judge ordered that the case should go to a two-day hearing for which he pencilled in April 15-16.

The Police Federation represents 120,000 officers out of the 140,000-strong police service; its action is being joined by the Police Superintendents' Association and the Association of Chief Police Officers.

The federation claims that Smith has no legal power to set aside a recommendation by an independent pay tribunal that a 2.5% pay rise be paid in full - the only exception being for reasons of the "utmost national importance".

The police claimed in legal argument that Smith approached their negotiations with a closed mind and had no intention of accepting any award which did not produce a figure for 2007 of less than 2%.

She refused to backdate the award from December 1 to September 1, in order to cut the overall increase in the police wage bill down from 2.5% to 1.9% - within the current 2% public sector pay guideline.

Smith has repeatedly made clear that to control inflation, the police could not be exempt from a public sector pay policy which has also seen the prison officers and nurses have their pay awards staged.

The federation staged a 22,000-strong rally and protest march in Westminster this month and it has called for Smith's resignation over her handling of the dispute. Jan Berry, chair of the Police Federation, said of yesterday's court decision: "This is a positive step for the 140,000 police officers across England and Wales in their fight for fair pay.

"The fact that our application for judicial review has been successful adds weight to what we have been saying all along - that the home secretary betrayed police officers by failing to honour the decision by the independent police arbitration tribunal."

The legal challenge is probably the last avenue that the police have in their pay dispute.

The Liberal Democrats' home affairs spokesman, Chris Huhne, said the government was trying to defend the indefensible: "It has breached trust with the police - because you cannot deprive a group of the right to strike, and even the right to have a second job, while at the same time failing to honour arbitration arrangements on pay."

John Francis, general secretary of the federation, said: "The court is probably the last avenue left open to us."